Ice tray



D. c. GERBER ICE TRAY Nov. 28, 1939.

Filed Sept. 26, 1938 lNVENTO R Dale CGeI'beP ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 28,1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ICE TRAY corporation of OhioApplication September 26, 1938, Serial No. 231,624

9 Claims.

This invention relates to refrigeration and more particularly to afreezing tray for domestic refrigerators having an indicator associatedtherewith to inform the user whether or not the tray is empty or full,and whether the contents are freezing or have become frozen.

When a freezing tray is positioned on the evaporator shelf of arefrigerator and the contents allowed to freeze, the tray also freezesto the evaporator shelf. Frequently ice trays are removed before thecontents have been frozen and the tray is then returned to the shelf.This breaks the bond between the tray and the shelf. The tray and shelfthen being dry, the tray will not freeze again to the evaporator shelf,resulting in a less efiicient transfer of heat from the freezingcontents of the tray to the evaporator shelf.

It is accordingly an object of this invention to provide a freezing trayin which it.is not necessary to remove the tray from the evaporatorshelf to determine if the contents have been frozen.

It is another object of this invention to provide a freezing tray havingan indicator with means responsive to the condition of the contents ofthe tray to indicate the condition thereof.

It is another object of this invention to provide a freezing tray for adomestic refrigerator having a thermostatic element associated therewithadapted to be affected by the temperature of the material in the traywhich operates a signal with indicia thereon to inform the user whetherthe contents of the tray is freezing or frozen.

Sometimes the tray is placed in the freezing compartment without beingrefilled. When ice is again needed none is available and it is necessaryto refill the tray and wait until it has frozen.

It is accordingly another object of this invention to provide means toindicate whether the tray is full or empty which is visible when thecabinet door is opened to obtain foodstuffs so that the user is informedif the tray is empty every time the door is opened whereby the tray canbe refilled before ice is needed.

It is another object of this invention to provide a freezing tray havingmeans associated therewith aifected by the weight of the receptacleand/or contents to operate a signal. to inform the user whether the trayis full or empty.

It. is another object of this invention to provide freezing or frozen,in which the indicating means is responsive to the condition of thecontents of the tray and is permanently associated with the tray.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent asthe description proceeds when taken in connection with the accompanyingv 1 partly broken away to show the. indicating mechanism;

Figure 4 is a sectional view of another embodiment of the inventiondepicting the position of the indicating means when the tray is empty,

Figure 5 is a front view of the device of Figure 4 partly broken away toshow the indicating mechanism, and

Figure 6 is a view of the device of Figure 4 depicting the position ofthe indicating means when the tray is full.

Referring to Figures 1, 2 and 3, 10 indicates a freezing tray adapted tobe positioned on the evaporator shelf of a domestic refrigerator havinga front wall ll extending forwardly to form a handle l2. Secured in thefront wall II is a bimetallic thermostatic disc I3 having a pin itsecured thereto to contact a rocker arm [5 pivoted to bracket I6 mountedon cover member I! which is riveted or otherwise secured to the frontwall ll ofthe tray. A torsion spring 18 surrounds the pivot pin for therocker arm I5 and normally holds it in the position shown in Figure 1with its outer end engaging a stop 19 on the bracket I6.

The cover member I! is provided with an opening 20 so that the indiciaof the front face of the rocker arm l5 will be visible therethrough. Therocker arm l5 has two front faces 2| and 22 each of which is marked withdistinguishing indicia above referred to. These faces 2 I and 22 may bepainted in different colors or be provided with any distinguishing markwhich will distinguish the one from the other, but it is preferable tomark the portion 2| with the word freezing" and the portion 22 with theword frozen.

A rubber member 23 is shown secured to the front of the tray so as toseal the interior of the tray from disc l3, and the latter is providedwith a; small opening 24 so that a vacuum will not be produced when thedisc operates. The rubber freezing.

member may be omitted if desired and the disc secured in watertightengagement with the front of the tray.

In operation, the tray is filled with a substanceto be frozen and placedon the evaporator shelf of a refrigerator and the substance allowed to.

freeze. When the contents have been frozen, thermostatic disc. l3 willsnap to the position shown in Figure 2 so that the'pin I4 will engagethe rocker arm 15 and move it into the position shown in Figure 2against the action of the torsion spring Hi.

If the user desires the frozen contents before they have been frozen,the rocker arm l5 will be in the position shown in Figure 1 and the wordfreezing will be visible through the opening 20 so that the user willimmediately known that the contents have not yet frozen. If the rockerarm is in the position shown in Figure 2, the word frozen will bevisible through the opening 20 and the user will know that the contentsof the tray are frozen and ready for use.

As will be apparent from the foregoing, the device makes it .unnecessaryto remove the tray from the evaporator shelf, thereby breaking the bondbetween the tray and the shelf in order to determine if the contents ofthe tray have been frozen, but the condition of the contents of the traycan be readily determined by merely opening the cabinet door andglancing at the indicator.

The embodiment of Figures 4, 5 and 6 is similar to that just describedexcept for a slightly different mounting for the temperature responsivemeans, and the addition of mechanism to indicate whether or not the trayis full or empty. The bracket I6 is provided with a slot 25 in which thepivot pin for the rocker arm 15' slides. The pivot pin is mountedthrough a member 26 having a portion 2'! sliding in the bottom part ofthe cover H. The part 21 has a foot 28 to contact with the evaporatorshelf 29 and a spring 30 surrounding it to normally hold it in itslowermost position.

The face 2| of the rocker arm I5 is provided with two distinctivemarkings, one above the other, preferably the upper marking is the wordempty, and the lower marking is the word The face 22' of the rocker arml5 has still a different distinguishing mark, preferably the wordfrozen. Disc I3 is secured to the outside of the tray so that there willbe no actual contact between the disc and the contents of the tray butthe disc is made to be responsive to the temperature of the contents ofthe tray.

In operation, if the tray is not filled with water, the spring 30 willforce the foot 28 down against the evaporator shelf 29 so as to raisethe tray from the shelf and allow the rocker arm l5 to take the positionshown in Figure 4 in which position the word empty is visible throughthe opening 20' and the user upon opening the refrigerator door will beimmediately informed that the tray is empty whereby it can be refilledbefore the contents are needed. If the tray is full, the weight of thecontents of the tray added to that of the tray will compress the spring30 and move the rocker arm 15 to the position shown in Figure 6 so thatthe word freezing is visible through the opening 20'. The user will thenknow that the tray is full but the contents have not yet frozen. Whenthe contents of the tray have become frozen, disc l3 will operate tomove the rocker arm l5 to a position where the word frozen is visiblethrough the opening 20 as described in connection with the embodiment ofFigures 1 to 3, to inform the user that the contents have become frozen.1

From the foregoing it can be seen that this invention provides afreezing tray with means permanently associated therewith to indicatewhether the tray is full or empty or the contents freezing or frozen,which is simple in operation and simple and economical to manufacture.

'While I have shown but two embodiments of my invention it is to beunderstood that these embodiments are to be taken as illustrative onlyand not in a limiting sense. I do not wish to be limited to theparticular structure shown but to include all equivalent variationsthereof except as limited by the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. A freezing tray adapted to contain a material to be frozen incombination with means for indicating the condition of the materialwithin said tray, and discernible indicia carried by said indicatingmeans.

2. An ice tray adapted to contain water to be frozen, a thermostaticelement positioned to be affected by the temperature of said water andsignal means operated by said thermostatic element.

3. An ice tray adapted to contain water to be frozen, a thermostaticelement positioned to be affected by the temperature of said water,signal means operated by said thermostatic element and additional meansaffected by the weight of water in said tray for operating said signalmeans.

. 4. A freezing tray for a domestic refrigerator adapted to contain amaterial to be frozen, in combination with means responsive to thecondition of the material in said tray and indicia carrying meansoperable by said condition responsive means to indicate the condition ofthe material in said tray.

5. A freezing tray for a domestic refrigerator adapted to contain amaterial to be frozen, in combination with means responsive to theweight of material in said tray and means operable by said weightresponsive means to indicate the amount of material in said tray.

6. A freezing tray for a domestic refrigerator adapted to contain amaterial to be frozen, in combination with means responsive to thethermal condition and weight of the material within said tray, and meansoperable by said thermal condition and weight responsive means toindicate the condition of the material in said tray.

'7. A freezing tray for a domestic refrigerator adapted to contain amaterial to be frozen, means responsive to the weight of the material insaid tray, said means comprising a reciprocating member mounted on saidtray and a spring opposing the weight of the material therein, a memberoperatively connected to said reciprocating member, the second mentionedmember having a plurality of indicia carrying portions, and means on thetray for covering and uncovering the indicia carrying portions as thereciprocating member moves.

8. An ice tray adapted to. contain a material to be frozen, meansresponsive to the condition of the material within the tray, pivotedmeans carried by the tray and operable by said condition responsivemeans, said pivoted means having a plurality of indicia carryingportions, and means on the tray for covering and uncovering the indiciacarrying portions as the .condition responsive means operates.

' 9. An ice tray adapted to contain water to be frozen, a thermostaticelement positioned to be afiected by the temperature of said water,pivoted means carried by said tray and operatively related to saidthermostatic element, said pivoted means having three indicia carryingportions, additional means afiected by the. weight of the water in thetray for operating said pivoted means, and means on the tray forcovering and uncovering two of said indicia carrying portions when saidthermostatic element operates and also for covering and uncovering twoof said indicia carrying means when said additional means operates.

DALE C. GERBER.

